However, last Friday night changed it all for the Kansas
City Royals. The Royals haven’t been to the playoffs since their World Series
championship run back in 1985. That’s 29 years without a playoff run. A record
in sports history for any team; although granted, there were some seasons where
they finished a little over .500 and came close but fell short in the end
(1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993 and 2003).
Last season however was only the beginning of what baseball
fans in Kansas City have been wanting for so long to see: the Royals become a
winning team again. Owner, David Glass began making some serious moves with the
pitching by acquiring Wade Davis, Jeremy Guthrie and James “Big Game James”
Shields. The Royals had a great year and came close to catching a spot in the
playoffs but fell short in the 2013 season.
The last time the Royals had a winning season was the 2003
season and following that year many sports writers and fans predicted the
Royals would win the AL Central for the 2004 season, but in the end it was a
disappointment with managers getting fired during the season and veteran
players getting injured. This time around (10 years later) before the 2014
season began many sports fans and writers didn’t overhype the team but still
kept in mind that there was maybe a chance for the Royals. Some predicted they
would win the AL Central, some predicted they would be one of the two Wild Card
teams and others ruled them out completely.
This year has turned out to be a season for Royals fans to
remember whether you were around during their glory days in the 70’s & 80’s
or (like many in my generation) are finally getting to experience playoff
baseball in Kansas City for the very first time! It became a dream come true
last Friday night when the Royals played the Chicago White Sox and Salvador Perez
caught the last pop up ball for the 3rd out in the bottom of the 9th
inning to seal deal. The Royals have turned out to be the Cinderella team of
the season.
